I have to create a primer on Energy Trading for a software development team that doesn't know jack about it. The team is going to develop energy trading web applications for an I-bank. I only have 2-3 days, so unfortunately I don't have time to order/read books on the subject. The primer needs to have information on the technology involved in energy trading, and I don't know where I could find that.Can anyone direct me to introductory resources on Energy Trading, or provide any information about it?I am looking for the following type of technically related information:Order Flow for an energy trading desk (the life cycle of the order)Technologies used in orders/analysisVendors of software toolsAnd also the following type of general information:Purpose of energy tradingLeading playersRegulatory bodies/Regulatory issuesHow are energy derivatives prices quoted?Also, is anyone familiar with the endur trading/risk management system?Any help or links to resources would be appreciated

Have you tried FEA? http://www.fea.com/industries/energy/default.asp

The NYMEX and EIA both provide "introductory" material covering the general info.Regarding risk mgmt software, I would recommend Caminus/SunGard. You also might consider KWI, Henwood Energy and NewEnergy Associates among others.

I think Endur is the energy trading system from Open Link. As far as I know, it is very powerful...has all the tools and risk reporting you'd need, but is also very expensive compared to its competition.here's a link to a list of energy technology links:http://www.prospex.co.uk/index.php?opti ... e&SubMenu=

partial listing of unitsOil: USD/barrelfuel: USD/Metric Tonnecoal: USD/MTNatural gas: USA: USD/mmBTUUK: pence/thermCanada: CAD/gigajouleEU: EUR/take your pickalso cubic meters and cubic feet of gasalso kWh of gasPower: Currency/MWhUSA gasoline: cents/gallonhope this helps

Whilst endur may have a lot of bells and whistles im not sure how well it is received by the average software development team unless they get off on spending all their time developing in a proprietary scripting language and letting their more commercially transferable OO skills rot to waste

Thanks for the info guys.HTFB, that unit info was helpful. Thank you I still have a few questions:What's the Order flow for trade? Is it deal capture, trade validation, processing, accounting, and settlement?What are the current regulatory trends?What are the most popular (for instance, most actively traded) Energy derivatives? Is it forwards? How popular are swaps?

Oh, and I have some questions about edur. This is actually the most important thing--I need need to find out how it works, so that the software team has an idea of how to integrate with it.Who uses endur? Is it the managers, or traders, or do clients have their own accounts that utilize endur?Where does endur get its data from? (what exchange or data feed)No one here knows anything about it, so I don't even really know which questions to ask.

The process varies from on shop to another, primarily because of the numerous types of market participants: banks, funds, "merchant" energy companies, utilities, local distribution companies, producers, refiners, "deregulated suppliers", end users, etc. I've worked for several different types and their processes/systems are all significantly different. Some purchased "off the shelf" systems while others created their own. IMHO, the current regulatory environment (US) is a horror show. Regarding the most popular products it all depends on the product(s) and region(s) being traded. What products are you trading: nat gas, crude, power, heating oil, gasoline, coal, emissions? What type of shop?Regarding the major players, again, it depends on the product (NYMEX or OTC) and region. To name a few: MS, J Aron, BofA, Koch, Sempra, Constellation, Dominion, Citadel, etc. Recall that many of the former, big players: Enron, El Paso, Dynegy, Williams, Reliant, Mirant, etc. are no longer around/active.For additional info check out the following websites:intcx.compowermarketers.complatts.comp075.ezboard.com/benergytradersIn addition, while it's a little dated you might consider picking up a copy of "Trading Natural Gas" by Fletcher Sturm.I can't provide much information on Endur. Feel free to send me a PM.

Quote I have to create a primer on Energy Trading for a software development team that doesn't know jack about it. The team is going to develop energy trading web applications for an I-bank.And one wonders how the merchant energy/energy trading space has imploded so spectacularly. You are charged with developing a primer in 2-3 days that will be a woefully diluted representation of the current environment. Your software developers will read it and have an even further diluted understanding and go forward. I predict great success for this venture.

The products traded are dependent on the market. In a pool market (Australia/ New York), they trade swaps that settle against the hourly spot price.In other markets (eg PJM/ New Zealand etc), they trade Forwards and Swaps. Also, options are traded and the volume depends on how liquid the market is. People generally trade ATM One Times/ Monthly and Daily Options.re: Endur. The proprietary language it was written in means that you have to make decisions about your IT section. Do you spend time and effort acquiring the skills to maintain it yourself or pay consultants to do your enhancements? I have heard that it takes a while to implement as it is quite rigid but once implemented, does the jobs well whilst workflow/ requirements are static.KWI is worth a look. It has full Front/ Middle and Back Office as well as scheduling for North America. The other systems mentioned below may be worthwhile too but I mention KWI because I am familiar with it.Good luck.

KWI has a scenario approach to measure risk. You need to specify these scenarios yourself to get an output. Many market participants do not feel comfortable with it since VaR numbers (for market risk) are not generated the usual way (VCV method, hist sim, Monte Carlo)